SE1550352A1

SE1550352A1 - A baby carrier

Info

Publication number: SE1550352A1
Application number: SE1550352A
Authority: SE
Inventors: Elmberg Lisen; Wikner Jakob; Andrén Mårten; Vejbrink Ulrika; Ramel-Wåhrberg Elisabeth
Original assignee: BabyBjörn AB
Priority date: 2015-03-24
Filing date: 2015-03-24
Publication date: 2016-09-25
Also published as: WO2016153411A1; SE538763C2

Abstract

19 A B S T R A C T The invention relates to a baby carrier comprising a harness(2) and a harness-carried front piece (6) which forms atleast a part of a baby-carrying pouch. The front piece (6)comprises a material having little or no inherent rigidityand is provide with at least one longitudinal flexiblestiffening element (20;30;40) which is attached to andextends over a major portion of the front piece (6) in a longitudinal direction thereof. (Pig. 1)

Description

lO A BABY CARRIERField of the invention The present invention relates to a baby carrier of the kind defined in the preamble of the accompanying claim l.

Background of the invention A certain type of known baby carriers comprises a harnesshaving at least chest straps arranged to extend around bothshoulder regions of the wearer and a front piece which iscarried by the harness and which forms a baby carrying pouchor at least a part of said baby carrying pouch. At least theupper lateral corner portions of the front piece arepreferably detachably connected to corresponding nearbyconnecting points of the harness. Also other part/parts of thefront piece may be detachably connected to correspondingnearby connecting points of the harness. The front peace isflexible and therefore shapes itself to at least some extentby lifting and folding under the influence of the weight ofthe baby carried in the pouch. Moreover, the front piece isessentially comprised of a low-stretchable or non-stretchablematerial, so as to provide comfortable and ergonomical support for the baby carried.

In the past the front piece has preferably been made of apadded material, i.e. two sheets of fabric with an interlayerof a suitable padding material, so as to give the front piecesome rigidity, and thereby facilitate positioning of the babyinto the baby carrier when carried by the wearer, and also comfort to the baby carried.

However, such a padded front piece will to some extent form an isolating barrier and thereby be quite warm for the baby, lO particularly during summer time, or when the baby is carried indoors.

Therefore, instead of a padded front piece, baby carriers havebeen developed having at least a front piece made of an airymaterial such as a mesh fabric, for instance. A mesh fabric isa fabric having open voids and will thus be very airy. Thefront piece can also be made of a single layer fabric or anyother light and/or suitable material, such as a knitted or woven fabric.

Common for all these materials/fabrics are that they have noor little inherent rigidity/stability, and therefore the frontpiece and the baby carrier as such, since it consists to amajor portion of the front piece, shows no or littlerigidity/stability. This makes it difficult to place a babyinto the baby carrying pouch when the baby carrier is carriedby the wearer, since the opening of said carrying poach formedbetween the wearer and the front piece will at least partlycollapse. This will be particularly noticeably when one orboth of the upper lateral corner portion(s) of the front pieceis(are) detached from the corresponding nearby connecting points of the harness.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to providea baby carrier, the front piece of which shows the necessaryrigidity/stability to enable a wearer of the baby carrier to,by himself/herself, place a baby into the baby carrying pouchof the baby carrier when carried by the wearer without thenecessity to use one hand for opening/widening the baby carrying pouch.

According to the invention, this object is achieved by a baby carrier comprising a harness and a harness-carried front piece lO which forms at least a part of a baby-carrying pouch,characterized in that the front piece comprises a materialhaving little or no inherent rigidity and is provided with atleast one longitudinal flexible stiffening element which isattached to and extend over a major portion of the front piece in a longitudinal direction thereof.

Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent from the accompanying dependent claims.

Brief description of drawings The invention will now be described by way of non-limiting examples with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which - Fig. l is a front view of the inventive baby carrier with afront piece according to a first embodiment having twolaterally separated stiffening element located on the externalside of said front piece, - Fig. 2 is a view partly from the side of the baby carrier inFig. l, - Fig. 3 is a front view of the inventive baby carrier with afront piece according to a second embodiment having twolaterally separated stiffening element located on the externalside of said front piece, the upper ends of said stiffeningelements being connected to one another, - Fig. 4 is a front view of the inventive baby carrier with afront piece according to a third embodiment having one centralstiffening element located on the external side of the frontpiece, - Fig. 5 is a front view of only the front piece according toa forth embodiment of the inventive baby carrier having twolaterally separated stiffening elements located on the external side of said front piece, lO - Fig. 6 is a front view of only the front piece according toa fifth embodiment of the inventive baby carrier having twolaterally separated stiffening elements located on theexternal side of said front piece, the upper ends of saidstiffening elements being connected to one another, - Fig. 7 is a front view of only the front piece according toa sixth embodiment of the inventive baby carrier having onecentral stiffening element located on the external side saidfront piece, - Fig. 8 is a sectional view from above take along line A-A inFig. l and 3 showing the two stiffening elements placed on theexternal side of said front piece, - Fig. 9 shows the same view as in Fig. 8 but with the twostiffening elements placed on the internal side of said frontpiece, - Fig. lO is a sectional view from above take along line B-Bin Fig. 4 showing the one stiffening element placed on theexternal side of the front piece, - Fig. ll shows the same view as in Fig. lO but with the onestiffening element placed on the internal side of the frontpiece, - Fig. l2 shows the same view as in Fig. lO but with the onestiffening element placed in the middle of the material/fabricof the front piece, - Fig. l3 shows the same view as in Fig. 8 but with the twostiffening elements placed in the middle of thematerial/fabric of the front piece, - Fig. l4 is a sectional view of a first embodiment of astiffening element used for stiffening the front piece of theinventive baby carrier, - Fig. l5 is a sectional view of a second embodiment of thestiffening element used for stiffening the front piece of the inventive baby carrier, - Fig. l6 is a sectional view of a third embodiment of thestiffening element used for stiffening the front piece of theinventive baby carrier, and - Fig. 17 shows a flexural resistance test performed on a stiffening element.

Description of preferred embodiments In the description and claims below expressions such as upper,lower, external side, internal side etc. are to be understoodin connection with the normal use of the baby carrier as carried by a wearer.

Figs. l and 2 show a first embodiment of a baby carrier laccording to the invention comprising a harness 2 havingadjustable chest straps 3, which are arranged to extend aroundthe both shoulder regions of the wearer and which on thebackside of the wearer are preferably connected to each otherby a fitting 4 which is adjustable along the length of thechest straps 3. A baby-carrying pouch 5 is formed between atleast the chest straps 3 and a front piece 6 carried by theharness 2. A leg opening is formed at each side and at a lowerend of the front piece. The front piece 6 is at an upper edgeregion 8 detachably connected to respective chest strap 3 by adetachable connecting device 9, whereby the upper edge region 8 can be folded downwardly.

A baby carrier having a front piece of the above-mentionedtype is disclosed in Applicant's US patent No. 8,627,988, for instance, which is hereby incorporated by reference.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. l and 2 the baby carrier l isprovided with an adjustable waist belt ll, and a lower portion15 of the front piece 6 is connected to said waist belt ll and forms a seat support (not shown). A first end 3a of respective lO chest strap 3 is attached to the waist belt ll, while a secondend 3b preferably is detachably connected by a detachableconnecting device 7 to at least one edge portion/back portionof the front piece 6 situated in the vertical direction, asseen when the baby carrier is worn, somewhat below the centre of the height of the front piece.

More particularly, the upper edge region 8 of the front piece6 is connected to the first end 3a of respective chest strap 3via an adjustable strap lO, at a first end lOa of which onepart of the detachable connecting device 7 is attached, and asecond end lOb of which is attached to the upper edge region 8of the front piece 6. Preferably, the upper edge region 8 is apadded region having some rigidity so as to form a suitable head rest.

Regarding the expression that the chest straps 3 are arrangedto extend around both shoulder regions of the wearer it is tobe understood that the chest straps either can be crossed ormay stretch parallel to each other on the back side of thewearer, whereby in both cases the chest straps are connectedto each other by a fitting, such as fitting 4 or othersuitable arrangement, which is movable along the length of the straps.

The front piece 6 of the inventive baby carrier is preferablymade of a material having no or low inherent rigidity/stability such as a mesh fabric, net-like layers of material,single layer fabric, knitted fabric, woven fabric, felt,leather, foamed plastic with an open-cell structure or foamedplastic with a closed-cell structure or any other suitablematerial/fabric. In a preferred embodiment the front piece 6 is made of a 3D mesh fabric. lO To increase the rigidity/stability of the front piece 6 atleast one, preferably two, longitudinal flexible stiffeningelements 20;30;4O are adapted to extend from the upper edgeregion 8 of the front piece 6, preferably from about themiddle of the height of said upper edge region 8, to at leastthe connection between the front piece 6 and the waist beltll, preferably to about the middle of the height of said waistbelt, as seen by broken lines of the left stiffening elementin Fig. l. The ends of the stiffening elements 20;30;4O arepreferably arranged inside of/hidden by the fabric/materialforming part of the upper edge region 8 and the waist belt ll, respectively.

The stiffening element 20;30;4O has the function of a batten,i.e. to increase the rigidity/stability of the front piece 6and extends over the front piece 6 in a longitudinal direction thereof.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. l and 2, two laterallysubstantially parallel longitudinal flexible, possibly non-stretchable, stiffening elements 20;30;4O are provided on theexternal side of said front piece 6 and on each side of acentre axis of the front piece 6, preferably symmetrically arranged relatively to the centre axis of the front piece 6.

The front piece 6 may be provided with a folding line l3extending between a lower portion of the second end lOb ofeach adjustable strap lO, which second end lOb is attached tothe upper edge region 8. This fold line l3 makes it easier to fold down the upper edge region 8.

Fig. 3 shows a second embodiment of a baby carrier lOOaccording to the invention which is formed in the same way as the baby carrier shown in Figs. l and 2 with the exception of that the two laterally separated stiffening elements 20;30;40formed on the external side of a front piece 106 are at theirupper ends connected to one another so as to form anessentially U-shaped stiffening element turned upside-downwhich extends up to about an upper boarder edge 112 of thefront piece 106. The U-shaped portion is preferably arrangedinside of/hidden by the fabric/material forming an upper edge region 108.

Since the other features of the baby carrier 100 are the sameas of the baby carrier 1 according to the first embodiment they will not be described in further detail.

Fig. 4 shows a third embodiment of a baby carrier 200according to the invention, which baby carrier is formed inthe same way as the baby carrier 6;106 according to the firstand second embodiments with the exception of that only onelongitudinal flexible stiffening element 20;30;40 is providedon the external side of a front piece 206. An uppermostportion 201 of the stiffening element 20;30;40 has preferablya progressively increasing width towards about an upperboarder edge 212 of an upper edge region 208 so as to increasethe area made stiffer by said stiffening element 20;30;40 andthereby better supporting a child's head. Preferably, thisuppermost portion 201 of the stiffening element 20;30;40 isarranged inside of/hidden by the fabric/material forming the upper edge region 208, as seen by broken lines.

In Figs. 5 to 7 forth to sixth embodiments of another type offront piece 306;406;506 are shown and mounted to a harness,which front piece is of a type essentially provided at a babycarrier as disclosed in Applicant's US patent Nos. 8,752,739or 7,284,503 for instance, which are hereby incorporated by reference. Therefore, the front piece and the harness to which lO the front piece 306;406;506 is mounted will only be describedregarding the features which are different from the featuresof the baby carriers disclosed in the first to third embodiments above.

As can be inferred from Fig. 5, in the forth embodiment, theexternal side of a front piece 306 is provided with twolongitudinal flexible essentially parallel stiffening elements20;30;40 of the same type as provided on the front piece 6 ofthe first embodiment, and on each side of a centre axis of the front piece 306.

The front piece 306 is further provided with an upper edgeregion 308, and each of the two stiffening elements 20;30;40are arranged to extent to an upper boarder edge 3l2 of theupper edge region 308. The front piece 306 is at the upperedge region 308 detachably connected to respective chest strapof a harness (not shown) by a detachable connecting device 309provided at an end of a strap 3l0, whereby the upper edgeregion 308 can be folded downwardly, preferably at a foldingline 3l3 extending between a lower portion of an attachmentpoint 3ll for respective strap 3l0 to the upper edge region308. The width of the upper edge region 308 can be reduced byan adjustable strap 3ll provided at each side of the upperedge region 308.

As seen in Fig. 5 a lower portion 360 of said front piece 306is not provided with said stiffening elements 20;30;40, sincesaid lower portion 360 forms a tongue which is adjustablyattached to the harness by a connecting device (not shown) andforms a seat support (not shown) for the child carried.However, the stiffening elements 20;30;40 extend over a majorportion of the front piece 306 in a longitudinal direction thereof.

Fig. 6 shows a fifth embodiment of a front piece 406 of thesame type as shown in Fig. 5. The only difference between thefront piece 406 and the front piece 306 is that the twolaterally separated stiffening elements 20;30;40, in the sameway as in the second embodiment shown in Fig. 3, are at theirupper ends connected to one another so as to form anessentially U-shaped stiffening element turned upside-downextending up to about an upper boarder edge 412. A lowerportion 460 of said front piece 406 is not provided with said stiffening elements 20;30;40 of the same reasons as for the forth embodiment.

Fig. 7 shows a sixth embodiment of a front piece 506 of thesame type as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. The only differencebetween the front piece 506 and the front piece 306 and 406,respectively, is that only one longitudinal flexiblestiffening element 20;30;40 is provided on the external sideof a front piece 506. An uppermost portion 501 of thestiffening element 20;30;40 has preferably a progressivelyincreasing width towards an upper boarder edge 512 of an upperedge region 508 so as to increase the area made stiffer bysaid stiffening element 20;30;40 and thereby better supportinga child's head. In said embodiment the stiffening element20;30;40 is visible all the way up to the upper boarder edge512 of the upper edge region 508. A lower portion 560 of saidfront piece 506 is not provided with said stiffening element 20;30;40 of the same reasons as for the fifth embodiment.

Fig. 8 is a view from above taken along line A-A in Fig. 1 and3 showing two stiffening elements 20;30;40 arranged on the external side of the front piece 6;106;306;406. 11 Fig. 9 is a view corresponding to the one shown in Fig. 8 butshowing two stiffening elements 20;30;40 arranged on an internal side of said front piece 6;106;306;406.

Fig. 10 is a view from above taken along line B-B in Fig. 4showing one stiffening element 20;30;40 arranged on the external side of the front piece 206;506.

Fig. 11 is a view corresponding to the one shown in Fig. 10but showing one stiffening element 20;30;40 arranged on the internal side of said front piece 206;506.

Fig. 12 is a view from above taken along line B-B in Fig. 4showing one stiffening element 20;30;40 arranged within the fabric/material of the front piece 206;506.

Fig. 13 is a view from above taken along line A-A in Fig. 1and 3 showing two stiffening elements 20;30;40 arranged within the fabric/material of the front piece 6;106;306;406.

Fig. 14 shows a sectional view of a first preferred embodimentof the longitudinal flexible stiffening element 20 used forstiffening the front piece 6;106;206;306;406;506 of the inventive baby carrier.

In said first embodiment of the stiffening element 20 it isformed of several elongated round solid filaments 21 which arepreferably interwoven into a suitable fabric 22 and made of aplastic material, preferably polyamide, so as to form a bandshaped stiffening element. The stiffening element(s) 20 can be sewed on the front piece 6;106;206;306;406;506.

In Fig. 15 a second embodiment of the longitudinal flexiblestiffening element 30 is shown. In said second embodiment the stiffening element 30 is formed as a solid elongated one piece l0 l2 material, preferably in the form of a ”ruler”, and providedalong its longitudinal side edges 3l with a recess 32. Saidrecess 32 forms a weakening enabling the stiffening element(s)30 to be sewed on or in any other suitable way to be attachedto the front piece 6;l06;206;306;406;506. The longitudinalflexible stiffening element(s) 30 may be provided with holes (not shown) so as to increase the airiness of the same.

In Fig. l6 a third embodiment of the longitudinal flexiblestiffening element 40 is shown. The stiffening element 40corresponds to the stiffening element 30, but is provided inits longitudinal direction and at the centre with only onerecess l32 which forms a weakening enabling the stiffeningelement(s) 40 to be sewed on or in any other suitable way tobe attached to the front piece 6;l06;206;306;406;506. Thelongitudinal flexible stiffening element(s) 40 may be providedwith holes (not shown) so as to increase the airiness of the Sämê .

In case the front piece 6;l06;206;306;406;506 is formed of twomutually parallel and preferably net-like layers of material,such as mesh material, the stiffening element(s) 20;30;40 maybe placed between these layers and fastened to the front piece by sewing.

The stiffening element 20;30;40 shown has the shape of astrip, but it is obvious for the man skilled in the art thatthe stiffening element 20;30;40 can have any other suitable shape such as the shape of a rod.

The degree of stiffness of the stiffening element 20;30;40 is measured as follows.

In case said front piece 6;l06;306;406 is provided with two longitudinal flexible stiffening elements 20;30;40, each 13 longitudinal flexible stiffening element has a degree offlexural resistance so that a longitudinal flexible stiffeningelement 20;30;40 which is fixed at a first end portion 50 andprotrudes horizontally 150 mm from said first end potion 50 toa free end 51 requires a load of 10 to 60 grams, preferably 15to 40 grams, and most preferably about 20 grams, at said free end 51 for the free end to bend down 75 mm. See Fig. 17.

In the preferred embodiment of the stiffening element 20,shown in Fig. 14, the diameter of the filaments is 0.5 to 1mm, preferably 0.6 to 0.9 mm, and most preferably about 0.75mm, and the number of the filaments are 3 to 12, preferably 5 to 10, and most preferably 8, in each stiffening element 20.

However, it should be noted that, in the embodiments showingthe front piece 206;506 provided with one stiffening element20;30;40, the stiffness of said one stiffening element20;30;40 should be at least twice the stiffness of the two stiffening elements 20;30;40 combined.

In the same way, if the front piece is provided with more thantwo stiffening elements said elements all together should haveat least the same stiffness as of the two stiffening elements 20;30;40 combined.

When two longitudinal flexible stiffening elements 20;30;40are provided they are laterally separated from each other by adistance L of 0 to 220 mm, preferably by 10 to 150 mm, andmost preferably by 40 to 80 mm measured from a centre line ofone longitudinal flexible stiffening element to a centre line of the other longitudinal flexible stiffening element.

Although, it is described above that the longitudinal flexiblestiffening element(s) 20;30;40 is(are) provided on the external side, on the internal side or within the lO l4 fabric/material of the front piece, it is to be understandthat the stiffening element(s) can be arranged at the sametime both on the external side and on the internal side, or onthe external side and within the fabric/material, or on theinternal side and within the fabric/material of the front piece, or any suitable combination thereof.

Furthermore, in the embodiments described above either one ortwo stiffening elements are provided at the front piece, butit is obvious for the man skilled in the art that more than two stiffening elements can be arranged.

Furthermore, in all the embodiments described above and shownin the drawings the front piece has a folding line, but it is obvious for the man skilled in the art that this is an option.

Claims

C L A I M S

1.

2. A baby carrier comprising a harness (2) and a harness- carried front piece (6;lO6:206;306;406;506) which forms at least a part of a baby-carrying pouch, characterized in that the front piece (6;lO6:206;306;406;506) comprisesa material having little or no inherent rigidity and isprovided with at least one longitudinal flexiblestiffening element (20;30;40) which is attached to andextend over a major portion of the front piece(6;lO6:206;306;406;506) in a longitudinal directionthereof.

3. The baby carrier according to claim l, characterized inthat said material is a material selected from the groupconsisting of a mesh fabric, net-like layers of material, single layer fabric, knitted fabric, woven fabric, felt, leather, foamed plastic with a open-cell structure andfoamed plastic with a closed-cell structure.The baby carrier according to claim l or 2, characterized in that said material is a 3D mesh fabric.

4. The baby carrier according to any one of claims l to 3,characterized in that said at least one longitudinal(20;30;40) flexible stiffening element is arranged on either an external side, or on an internal side of said(6;lO6;206;306;406;506) (6;106;206;306;406; front piece or within thematerial forming said front piece506), or a combination thereof.

5. The baby carrier according to any one of claims l to 3, characterized in that two longitudinal flexible 16 stiffening elements (20;30;40) are arranged on either anexternal side, or on an internal side, or within the material forming said front piece (6;106;306;406), or acombination thereof, and placed on each side of a centre axis of the front piece (6;106;306;406).

6. The baby carrier according to claim 5, characterized inthat the two longitudinal flexible stiffening elements(20;30;40) are at their upper ends connected to one another.

7. The baby carrier according to any one of claims 1 to 6,characterized in that, in case said front piece(6;106;206; 306;406;506) is provided with twolongitudinal flexible stiffening elements (20;30;40),wherein each longitudinal flexible stiffening element hasa degree of flexural resistance so that a longitudinalflexible stiffening element (20;30;40) which is fixed ata first end portion (50) and protrudes horizontally 150mm from said first end portion to a free end (51)requires a load of 10 to 60 grams, preferably 15 to 40grams, and most preferably about 20 grams, at said free end (51) for the free end to bend down 75 mm.

8. The baby carrier according to any one claims 5 to 7,characterized in that said two longitudinal flexiblestiffening elements (20;30;40) are laterally separatedfrom each other by a distance L of 0 to 220 mm,preferably by 10 to 150 mm, and most preferably by 40 to80 mm measured from a centre line of one longitudinalflexible stiffening element to a centre line of the other longitudinal flexible stiffening element (20;30;40).

9.

10.

11.

12. 17 The baby carrier according to any one of claims 1 to 8,characterized in that the baby carrier further comprisesa waist belt (11), to an upper edge (14) of which isattached a lower edge (15) of the front piece (6), andthat said at least one longitudinal flexible stiffeningelement (20;30;40) extends from a middle portion of thewaist belt (11) to about an upper boarder edge(12;112;212;312;412;512) of said front piece(6;106:206;306;406;506). The baby carrier according to any one of claims 1 to 8,characterized in that said at least one longitudinalflexible stiffening element (20;30;40) extends from alower portion (360;460;560) of said front piece(306;406;506) to about an upper boarder edge(312;412;512) of said front piece (306;406;506). The baby carrier according to any one of claims 1 to 10,characterized in that said at least one longitudinalflexible stiffening element (20) comprises stifffilaments (21), preferably 3 to 12 filaments, mostpreferably 5 to 10 filaments, and particularly 8 filaments. The baby carrier according to any one of claims 1 to 10,characterized in that said at least one longitudinalflexible stiffening element (30) is formed as a solidelongated one piece material (30), and that said at leastone longitudinal flexible stiffening element (30) isprovided along its longitudinal side edges (31) with arecess (32), said recess (32) forming a weakening in said at least one longitudinal flexible stiffening element

13.

14. 18 (30) enabling the same to be sewed on the front piece (6;106:206;306;406;506). The baby carrier according to any one of claims l to 10,characterized in that said at least one longitudinalflexible stiffening element (40) is formed as a solidelongated one piece material (40), and that said at leastone longitudinal flexible stiffening element (40) isprovided along its longitudinal direction with a centrerecess (132), said recess (132) forming a weakening insaid at least one longitudinal flexible stiffeningelement (40) enabling the same to be sewed on the front piece (6;106:206;306;406;506). The baby carrier according to any one of claims l to 13,characterized in that said at least one longitudinalflexible stiffening element (20;30;40) has the shape of a band, strip or rod, and that it has a fixed stiffness.